


Bring Me to Life

by xtremeroswellian



Series: My Last Breath [2]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Apocalypse approaching, Chloe has powers now, Chloe is fed up, Destinies, F/M, Lying to your friends and family is a way of life for these two, Made up Kryptonian Mythology, Prophecies, This entire series was inspired by Evanescence songs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23881585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: When Chloe turns up alive and unharmed in his house, Clark is stunned to find out what's happened, and the two set foot on a metaphorical journey that will alter the course of both of their lives, and everyone around them...forever.
Relationships: Chloe Sullivan & Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan & Lois Lane, Clark Kent & Chloe Sullivan, Clark Kent & Jonathan Kent & Martha Kent & Chloe Sullivan, Clark Kent/Chloe Sullivan, Clark Kent/Lana Lang
Series: My Last Breath [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721134
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Song is from "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence

Milton Fine was furious. He couldn’t believe some petty little human had managed to stop him from freeing the great General Zod. Even if he did manage to find a way to free him now that the crystal was gone, he knew he would be punished severely for failing the first time.

His expression bitter and grim, a satisfied thought came to mind: at least he’d killed the little human b*tch who’d ruined his plans.

And yet it somehow wasn’t enough. No, he knew that Kal-El would come after him seeking vengeance. Because Kal-El was weak and attached to this pitiful race of beings, in particular the pretty little blond Fine had killed.

Which meant Fine would simply have to find a way to kill him first. His eyes darkened, his fists clenching at his sides. He would destroy the great warrior Kal-El.

No matter what it took.

* * *

_Call my name_  
And save me  
From the dark 

Clark felt drained in a way he’d never felt drained before in his life. He felt like he’d aged at least fifteen years in the last twelve hours. Chloe’s death weighed heavily upon his shoulders, more so than anything he’d ever felt guilty for before. He’d gone to the Fortress of Solitude, expecting to find her body there.

Instead he found only traces of blood, a shattered crystal on the ground, and one of the walls nearly collapsed. He’d tried to yell at Jor-El, tried to get the attention of his biological father, but Jor-El had remained silent, as if his very presence from the Fortress had vanished.

Fine hadn’t been there either and the only conclusion Clark could come up with was that Fine had taken Chloe’s body. The thought infuriated him, sent adrenaline rushing through his veins and if he could just find the other Kryptonian, Clark would make sure he was the only surviving being from their planet.

His parents had sat up waiting for him all night and he could see the worry in their eyes. He didn’t think they believed him when he told them dully that Chloe was gone, that she had died in his arms. They’d kept trying to reassure him that it had just been a dream because he hadn’t left the sofa all night until he woke up. Clark didn’t understand it either, but he knew he had held her as she died. It was just another thing about him that didn’t make any sense--to him or anyone else.

He slowly trudged up the stairs toward his bedroom after much encouragement from his parents, telling him to get some rest. That they would continue looking for Chloe. He knew they wouldn’t be able to find her.

That job was going to fall solely on his shoulders. And he was terrified of what seeing her lifeless body again would do to him. He didn’t think he could handle it. Feeling ill, he ran a hand over his face as a few tears prickled at his eyelids.

Clark opened the door to his bedroom and froze in the doorway, all the air leaving his lungs.

There, lying on his bed and struggling to sit up, was Chloe, a confused expression on her face.

His eyes widened and he managed a choked whisper, “Chloe?”


	2. Chapter 2

Martha Kent stared out the window above the kitchen sink, reaching up absently to tuck a strand of red hair behind her ear. Behind her, her husband was leaned against the counter, sipping a cup of coffee in silence. She let out a breath and closed her eyes briefly, bowing her head a little. “Do you think he’s right?”

“I don’t know,” he answered, his voice showing signs of his own exhaustion.

The last 36 hours had been horrible, to say the least. They’d both been certain for awhile that they were going to lose Clark to some unknown Kryptonian affliction and now it appeared that somehow Chloe Sullivan had saved him--possibly sacrificing her own life to do so.

“You were right about Fine,” she murmured. “We should never have trusted him.”

Jonathan remained silent.

“If something happened to her because we did…” Her voice trailed off, then turned to face him, guilt obvious in her eyes.

“We don’t know anything for sure, Martha.”

“Clark said he was with her when she died. That he saw her…”

“How can that be? He was on the sofa the entire time.” He shook his head.

She bit her lower lip, then looked at the floor. “I don’t know. But we both do know that there’s a lot about Clark and his abilities that we don’t understand or maybe even know about.”

He sighed softly and stared into his mug. “I don’t really know what to do.”

“Me either.” Martha smiled sadly, looking toward the stairs. “But if something did happen to her…I don’t know how he’s gonna get through it,” she whispered.

Wordlessly he put his mug down and wrapped his arms around her in silent support.

* * *

Clark was sure that he had somehow fallen unconscious once more, that he was dreaming this, because it certainly couldn’t be real. Chloe Sullivan couldn’t really be sitting on his bed, staring at him wide-eyed and looking every bit as confused as he felt.

“Clark?” she whispered, her eyebrows furrowing.

He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He simply stared at her, drinking in the sight of her. Her blond hair was shining in the dim sunlight that was pouring in from his window, her hazel eyes just as real and bright as he remembered them. She was a bit paler than usual, and her clothes were a bit worse for the wear, but she was there. On his bed. Alive.

Alive.

“What…” Swallowing, he slowly moved over to where she sat, still uncertain if he was dreaming. He hesitantly reached out, his fingers brushing against her cheek and he watched her eyes widen a little more.

“How did I get here?” Chloe whispered, her voice choked.

Clark gazed at her, shaking his head in silence and trailing his fingers along her cheekbone gently, afraid that she would disappear at any given moment. His hand slowly dropped to her shoulder and very lightly slid down her arm. He swallowed hard as she shivered a little, goosebumps raising on her arms.

If this was his imagination, or a mere dream, it was certainly a vividly realistic one.  
Tears flooded his eyes once more and he lifted his gaze to meet hers and for a moment they just looked at one another, neither of them speaking, nor knowing what to say. It certainly didn’t make any sense.

And he suddenly realized it didn’t matter. It didn’t have to make sense. Chloe was alive--somehow--by some incredible miracle--and that was all that mattered. A small noise alarmed him--a sob--and he was even more stunned to realize it had come from his lips. Wordlessly he gathered her into his arms, burying his face in her silky blond hair. Clutching onto her like a lifeline.

She’d come back to him.

And he wasn’t about to let her go.


	3. Chapter 3

Chloe closed her eyes, resting her head on Clark’s shoulder and shivering involuntarily. Her mind was muddled and she had no idea how she’d gotten from the Fortress in the Arctic to Clark Kent’s bedroom, in his bed, of all places.

There were a whole lot of things that didn’t make sense at the moment but she pushed them all aside temporarily in favor of savoring the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms. It wasn’t like they had never hugged before, but this wasn’t a normal friend-to-friend hug. There was much more emotion in it, much more need, and Clark was…crying? She felt a tear drop splash onto her cheek and she knew she wasn’t crying. Feeling alarmed, she hugged him more tightly.

“Clark, what is it? Did something happen? Is it your parents?”

He said something, but it was muffled against her shoulder and she didn’t understand him. She reluctantly pulled away from him and gazed up into his eyes. “I didn’t catch that.”

Clark gazed back into her eyes, his own shimmering with more unshed tears. “My parents are fine, Chloe, but…”

Starting to feel alarmed, she swallowed hard, her eyes dropping to where the mark on his neck had been. “You’re okay, right?” Without thinking about it, she reached out and brushed her fingertips over the spot lightly, causing him to start, and then shudder. “Clark?”

He stared at her for a long moment. “I saw you,” he whispered.

Chloe’s eyebrows furrowed. “Saw me?”

“I saw you die. In my arms.” Clark’s voice was thick. “In the Fortress.”

The breath caught in her throat. “Wait, you were there?” She tucked some hair behind her ear, feeling unnerved.

“Yeah. No…well, sort of. I don’t know.” She stood up, but he caught her arm quickly. “Maybe you should just stay sitting for a little while.”

“I’m okay, Clark. I don’t really feel like sitting anymore.” She offered him a smile, albeit a somewhat freaked-out one. “Tell me what happened.”

“I honestly don’t know.” He looked up at her, his blue eyes worried. “My parents said I never left the sofa after my fever broke and the symbol disappeared, but…I was there. You were…hurt, dying.” Clark closed his eyes, hanging his head. “I couldn’t save you.”

Her heart was pounding quickly against her chest. “I thought that was just…”

“What?”

“I thought I dreamt that, I guess.” Suddenly feeling self-conscious as she recalled some of the things she’d said, she began to slowly pace the floor.

“Maybe we both dreamt it. I mean…how else could you be here?” He shook his head.

Chloe sucked in a breath, beginning to feel more than a bit overwhelmed. “Clark…what happened there…it wasn’t a dream.” She slowly turned to face him.

He stared at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…I was dying. I…I did die…but…” She swallowed hard, not sure how to tell him the next part.

“But what?” he whispered, wide-eyed.

“Jor-El…brought me back.”

Clark rose to his feet, not taking his eyes off her. “Jor-El? Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, that’s who he said he was.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t know why he’d lie.”

He was silent for a long moment. “We should get you to a hospital to make sure you’re all right.”

“No, Clark, I feel fine. Better than fine, actually.” And she did. The truth was she couldn’t remember when she last felt as awake, as alive as she did right then. She chalked it up as a side effect of her miraculous resurrection.

“Chloe, when I got there…you were bleeding and you had broken bones.”

“I guess when Jor-El sent me back, he healed me somehow.” She bit her lower lip.

“Can I…” He hesitated, looking shy suddenly.

“What?”

“Can I check to be sure?”

Her eyebrows furrowed but it quickly dawned on her what he meant. “Oh you mean…uh…” Chloe swallowed hard, then nodded wordlessly.

Drawing in a breath, he scanned her with his x-ray vision and saw she was right: there were no broken bones, no internal bleeding…in fact if he hadn’t known any better, this whole thing had just been a nightmare. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head.

“Clark?” Neither of them heard the very soft voice of Martha Kent outside his bedroom door, nor did they notice when she opened the door. It was hard not to hear her exclamation of, “Oh my God!”

Chloe slowly pulled away from Clark and turned to see her, heat climbing to her cheeks. “Mrs. Kent, it’s not what you think,” she began, stunned when she suddenly found herself in the woman’s arms.

“Oh, Chloe. Thank God you’re all right.”

Closing her eyes, she hugged Martha back, letting out a slow breath. “I guess Clark filled you in?”

She nodded quickly and pulled away to look at Chloe. “How did you get here?”

Chloe and Clark exchanged a look. “That’s a little unclear,” she admitted.

Martha’s eyebrows furrowed, but she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’re safe. Jonathan!” she shouted from the doorway.

She heard the footsteps pounding up the stairs quickly and a moment later Jonathan Kent stood in the doorway, his eyes widening as he spotted her.

“Chloe?” he said in disbelief. He shifted his gaze to Clark.

“We think Jor-El transported her here when he…sent her back.”

“Sent her back?” Martha repeated, shaking her head.

“From the great beyond,” Chloe said wryly.

Both of the Kents’ stared at her, stunned.

“Chloe, are you saying that Jor-El brought you back to life?” Jonathan questioned.

Shifting uncomfortably, she nodded, biting her lower lip.

“I think we should all sit down and figure out what exactly is going on,” Martha said, looking at Clark meaningfully. She turned and headed out the door. “I’ll put some fresh coffee on.”

Chloe drew in a deep breath, hoping it was a strong brew. She definitely needed it.

* * *

She sat on one end of the sofa, a mug of hot coffee cradled in her hands, glancing around the silent room. Clark sat not six inches away from her--about the farthest he’d gotten from her since he’d found her in his room. It was like he was afraid to let her out of his sight. That was all right with her. Except she was extremely conscious of just how close he was sitting. She could feel the warmth of his body radiating from beside her. His hand rested in the space between them and she had to ignore the strong urge she had to cover it with her own.

That would be inappropriate. He had a girlfriend after all; and said girlfriend happened to be her other best friend.

She looked up as Jonathan Kent cleared his throat and glanced at his wife. “Chloe, we need you to tell us everything that happened.”

She’d almost always felt comfortable with the Kent’s. They were a good family and she felt a special kinship with Martha. Over the last several years the woman had become the closest thing to a mother-figure Chloe’d had in years. Despite that, right then she felt uncomfortable and nervous and she wasn’t all together sure why she felt that way. She met the woman’s eyes and Martha offered her a warm, encouraging smile.

Chloe drew in a deep breath and to her surprise, Clark shifted closer to her, closing most of the small gap between them, as if he was offering her his physical presence as a method of his own brand of encouragement. She felt a stirring of emotion within her that she was usually able to suppress or at the very least ignore, and she glanced at him sideways, noticing he was gazing at her intently.

She knew none of them was going to like what she was about to say. “Lionel Luthor came to see me at the Daily Planet yesterday evening.”

“Lionel?” Clark repeated, his eyes widening a little.

She met his gaze, nodding silently. She knew Clark knew how uneasy she felt about the billionaire, how she still tensed at the sound of the name.

“What did he want?” Martha asked worriedly.

“He wanted to give me a story about someone at Central Kansas.” She paused. “Someone with super strength and the ability to shoot fire from his eyes.”

“He knows about me?” Clark whispered.

“That’s what I thought too. But…no. He was talking about your professor. Milton Fine.” She looked at him, searching his eyes. His gaze was intense and for a moment she forgot what she was saying, and where they were.

“How did he know about Fine?” Jonathan questioned and she blinked, breaking the gaze she held with Clark and turning her attention to him.

“I have no idea. He said he didn’t have any proof, that Fine was too clever to be caught.” Chloe tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear, then took a sip of her coffee, letting its warmth sooth her frazzled nerves. “So after I talked to him, I started doing some research. There’s no record of Fine’s existence anywhere.”

“Well, he is Kryptonian,” Jonathan murmured.

“Yeah, but so is Clark, and…there are records for him. All kinds of them,” she pointed out. “But nothing for Fine. Anywhere, ever.”

The four of them fell silent, absorbing that bit of information.

“That’s when I got your phone call about Clark,” Chloe said softly, looking at Martha. “And I came here on a hunch. And then you said that Fine had gone to destroy the Fortress in order to save Clark and that I had sent him. And I realized that…he may be from the same planet as Clark, but he’s not like Clark at all.” Her voice dropped to a whisper and she gazed into the coffee mug.

Despite the fact they weren’t actually touching, she felt Clark tense, and a wave of barely suppressed anger tugged at her, causing her to frown. She glanced at him sideways.

“What happened when you left?” he asked quietly, his eyes dark and intense.

Chloe hesitated. “I followed him to the cave, and then used the key to get to the Fortress. When I got there…he was opening some kind of portal and talking to someone…I think he called him General Zod.”

Clark shook his head slightly to signal he had no idea who she was talking about.

She shrugged, feeling overly confused. “Whoever this Zod is, Fine was trying to free him. There was a crystal in the center of the Fortress and I heard this voice…tell me to destroy it.”

“What voice?” Jonathan asked, leaning forward slightly.

“I don’t know. But I think it might have been Jor-El.” She bit her lip, then took another long drink of coffee. “So I grabbed the crystal and that’s when Fine spotted me.” Another wave of anger hit her and she stood up slowly, needing to walk off the feeling.

“What did he do?” Clark asked lowly.

She glanced at him as she slowly walked the floor. “I took some Kryptonite with me thinking maybe he shared your weakness, but…” Chloe shook her head. “It didn’t do anything to him at all. But…when I brought it in contact with the crystal, the crystal exploded into millions of pieces. And the portal closed.”

“So this…General Zod didn’t get through?” Jonathan asked and she shook her head no.

“Thank God,” Martha murmured, reaching out and touching her husband’s arm.

Clark didn’t take his eyes off her, though he remained silent.

“I’m guessing that destroying that crystal is what saved Clark,” Jonathan added, glancing at Martha, who nodded.

There was a thick tension in the room that hadn’t been there only moments before.

Clark slowly stood up, gazing at her intently. “Then what happened?”

“You…know the rest.” She avoided his eyes, feeling even more on edge than she already was.

A long moment of anger-filled silence past and without a word, the three of them watched in surprise as Clark left the room, and then headed out the backdoor, slamming the door behind him as he went outside, presumably to his loft.

Feeling overwhelmed by the mixture of emotions whirling around her, Chloe drew in a breath and let it out slowly, looking at the Kents’ uncertainly.

“Go,” Martha said softly, nodding.

She nodded as well, then quickly followed after Clark.

* * *

Clark stared out the loft window and into the distance, his arms folded across his chest. Things were becoming all too clear for him that he wasn’t ready or prepared to see this clearly yet. His shoulders were tense, and every muscle in his body was filled with anger.

He was going to locate Fine and kill him. There was no doubt in his mind. It was what he had to do. The Kryptonian had proven he was anything but trustworthy. He had killed Chloe, had tried to kill Clark, and tried to bring some other being to earth that was undoubtedly evil.

It was the first point that got to him the most. There was a lot that Clark Kent could deal with--meteor freaks and robbers and even the Luthors.

Chloe getting hurt because of him, dying because of him, was not something he could handle. The rage that flooded his mind at the thought was overwhelming, and bordering on uncontrollable. Without thinking about it, he punched a large hole in the side of the loft.

“Nice job.”

He turned quickly, startled to see Chloe standing a few feet away and wondering how she’d managed to sneak up on him without him hearing her. Swallowing hard, he turned away from her once more.

She drew in a breath and slowly came up behind him. “Clark…”

“Don’t.” He shook his head a little.

“I get that you’re upset.”

Clark scoffed and looked at her. “You think?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I get that you’re upset,” she repeated tensely. “But that doesn’t give you the right to be a jerk.”

He was more than a little caught off guard by her words and didn’t know how to respond.

Smirking in the apparent satisfaction of having shut him up, she went on. “Now you wanna tell me what’s going on in that brain of yours or do you just plan to keep punching holes in your loft? Cause eventually it will collapse.”

He let out a breath and looked away from her for a long moment, staring out at the fields. “Chloe, I watched you die.” His voice was very quiet.

“I know that. I was there. I’m just not clear on how you were there.”

“Don’t you get it? You should never have been up there.”

“I went up there because you couldn’t,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, well don’t do it again,” Clark said, his tone harsher than he meant for it to be.

She snorted. “Well, then don’t almost die on me again!”

“Hey, I didn’t choose to get sick,” he snapped, turning to face her angrily.

“No, you got sick because Fine made you sick, Clark. And in case you didn’t notice, I saved your life.”

“And you died in the process!”

Chloe folded her arms across her chest, her eyes narrowed and filled with determination. “And I’d do it again.”

“Dammit, Chloe!” He reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. “You think I wanted that? You think I ever wanted to see you hurt like that? That I wanted you to die in my place?” Clark shook his head. “You should have just let me die.”

Her jaw tensed. “If you wanna be p*ssed, be p*ssed. I really don’t care, Clark. I did what had to be done.”

Glaring at her, he moved away. “You don’t get it, do you?”

“I get it better than you do,” Chloe snapped.

“I really doubt th--”

“Look at me,” she commanded.

He slowly turned to look at her once more, still furious, though more with himself than her.

“I did what I did because I had to do it, Clark. You would’ve done the same thing if our positions had been reversed. And don’t even try to deny it,” she warned, moving so she was standing toe-to-toe with him.

Clark swallowed hard, suddenly realizing just how close they were standing. His fingers were itching to reach out and touch her, to brush away the strand of blond hair that had fallen on her cheek. “You’re not me, Chloe,” he said quietly. “That’s the difference.”

“No kidding, Clark,” she said snidely, glaring at him. “But that doesn’t mean I was ready to watch you die.” The anger suddenly seemed to fade from her eyes and he felt his own defenses dropping, as well.

“I wasn’t ready to watch you die either,” he whispered, his voice choked. Letting out a breath, she wrapped her arms around his waist and he hugged her back tightly. “Chloe, I don’t wanna lose you. Ever. I’ve never been that scared before.”

Chloe shut her eyes, resting her head against his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. After a moment, she slowly pulled away from him, looking up at him intently with her bright hazel eyes. “Come on. Let’s go back into the house. I really need the rest of my coffee.”

Clark started to reply when he caught sight of something behind her that made his eyes widen.

“What? What is it?”

“Turn around,” he whispered.

Chloe turned and stared in shock as her coffee mug hovered in mid-air a few inches away from them. “Uh…”


	4. Chapter 4

For a full five seconds, neither one of them said anything, simply stared in shock at the floating mug of steaming coffee. Then as it began to fall toward the loft floor, Clark moved and caught it easily before it could shatter. He continued to stare at it for a moment, and then he looked at Chloe, wide-eyed.

Her eyebrows were arched and she looked back at him. “So when were you gonna tell me about your new found power of telekinesis?”

“Chloe…” He shook his head slowly, setting the cup down. “I didn’t…that wasn’t me.”

“Then who was it? Cause I don’t see anyone el--” Her voice trailed off mid-sentence and she stared back at him. “You think…I did that?” Her voice rose an octave and she quickly shook her head.

“Okay, don’t panic.”

She shot him a glare.

Clark drew in a breath, a million thoughts racing through his mind. He knew with absolutely certainty that he hadn’t moved the cup, which meant it had to have been Chloe.

“Clark!” He heard his mother’s frightened voice at the bottom of the loft stairs.

“We’re up here, Mom,” he called down. “What’s wrong?”

“Your father and I were talking and all of a sudden Chloe’s coffee mug--”

“Floated out the door?” he finished.

“Yes, how did you…” As she reached the top of the stairs and spotted the mug, she stared at it for a moment, then looked at Clark in shock. “Clark, what…”

Clark shook his head slightly and held up his hands. “It wasn’t me.”

“Then who…” She lifted her gaze to look at Chloe, who was three shades paler than a sheet. “Oh, my.”

Chloe swallowed hard, shifting her gaze to Clark. Wordlessly, he moved to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Martha? Did you find out what’s going on?” Jonathan appeared at the top of the stairs next.

“I’m not sure,” she murmured, gazing intently at her son and Chloe.

* * *

“All right, focus,” Clark said softly as he sat beside her on the sofa.

“This is stupid. I didn’t move the cup, Clark,” she said stubbornly.

He gave her a look. “What were you thinking about right before we saw it floating?”

Chloe shifted uncomfortably, not meeting his eyes. “I was thinking that I needed more coffee,” she said with a soft sigh.

He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Try to do it again.”

Drawing in a shaky breath, Chloe focused her gaze on the mug. Nothing happened. “See? I told you.”

“You’re not focusing.”

She gave him a dirty look. “I am too focusing.”

A small smile tugged at his lips at the childlike argument that came from her mouth. If she’d stuck her tongue out at him, he wouldn’t have been surprised.

Sighing once more in annoyance, she turned her attention back to the mug across the loft, very conscious of the fact that Martha and Jonathan Kent were standing a few feet away, watching intently. Closing her eyes, she imagined the rich thickness of the beverage, of the heat that warmed her throat all the way down to her stomach. She needed a drink of it badly. And when she heard Martha gasp, she quickly opened her eyes to discover that the mug was floating inches in front of her face.

Her heart skipped a beat and she hesitantly reached out and grasped the ceramic cup in her hands, not looking at anyone as she downed the rest of the drink quickly. She was definitely going to need more. Like, right now.

Chloe rose to her feet, feeling shaky and alarmed and excited and confused all at once. She bit her lower lip and sneaked a peek at Clark, not sure how he was going to react.

His eyes reflected all the same things she was feeling and he stood up, as well. “Well. I guess this is when I say I told you so,” he said with a smirk.

* * *

Chloe stood under the spray of the shower, letting the warm water trail down her body. She let out a breath as she closed her eyes, scrubbing her skin with the bar of soap.

She’d moved a coffee mug with her mind.

A short chuckle escaped her lips and she quickly pressed a hand over her mouth. Swallowing hard, she tried to get a grip on that little fact. She had moved something just by thinking about it.

Despite all the things she’d been witness to since moving to Smallville, all of the weird instances she’d investigated over the years, this was nothing like that. She’d watched from the sidelines as various classmates had developed kryptonite-related abilities after the meteor showers. Had watched as Clark used his own powers to save lives and do so much good.

But this was mind-blowing. Never before had she thought somehow she would develop powers of her own. Oh, she’d imagined what it’d be like from time to time, even dreamt about what she could do if one day she woke up and had Clark’s super-hearing or speed, or strength. Hell, she’d been jealous for awhile because she was just Chloe. Just plain, ordinary Chloe Sullivan whose only real talent was for tracking down stories and writing about them.

She slowly opened her eyes and set the soap down in its container on the side of the tub. Then she focused her mind on it.

And when it floated up from its place, and hovered in front of her, a small grin tugged at her lips.

* * *

Clark sat on the edge of his bed, his mind whirling with untamed thoughts. Chloe had died and Jor-El had brought her back, and somehow in the midst of that process, she’d gained the ability to move things with her mind. Rubbing the back of his neck, he wondered if it was just a temporary side-effect from coming back from the dead, or if it would be a permanent thing that she would have to get used to, and have to hide from the world.

He closed his eyes briefly and laid down with his head on the pillow of his bed. He had a feeling it was going to take awhile to sink in that his best friend had, at least for the time being, powers of telekinesis.

His cell phone ringing startled him out of his thoughts and he glanced at the caller ID. Lang, Lana. His eyebrows furrowed a bit as he realized he hadn’t thought about his girlfriend in over 24 hours. Of course, so many things had happened, he hadn’t had time to idly think about anything. He quickly placed the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Hi, Clark, it’s me.”

“Hi, Lana.”

“Have you talked to Chloe by any chance? She never came back to the dorm last night and she didn’t call or anything…I’m starting to get worried.”

He swallowed hard. “Oh, uh…she’s here, actually.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “In Smallville?”

“Yeah. She was visiting Lois. She must have just forgotten to let you know.” He’d been telling little lies to Lana for so long to protect himself, he thought nothing of doing the same for Chloe.

“That doesn’t sound like her,” Lana murmured.

“She’s taking a shower right now, you want me to have her call you when she gets out?” He didn’t even think about what he said before he said it.

“She’s showering at your house?” she asked in confusion.

“Oh, uh…yeah. We got a rainstorm a little while ago and she was helping my dad and I get the animals rounded up. She was cold, so…”

“I see.” She sounded perturbed, but didn’t say anything about it. “Yeah, just have her call me when she gets the chance.”

“I will.” Clark paused, feeling like he should say something else, but not knowing what to say.

“So…I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah. Bye, Lana.” He hung up the phone, frowning.

* * *

Chloe emerged from the shower a little while later, wrapped in a flannel robe that she assumed was Clark’s considering it was too big to be Martha’s, and much too long to be Jonathan’s. She hadn’t thought twice before taking it off the back of the bathroom door and sliding it over her skin and tying it shut with the sash. In fact, she’d been inexplicably drawn to it. Or maybe not so inexplicably, considering her feelings for Clark.

The warm material felt good against her skin and she sighed softly, raking a hand through her damp blond hair and heading out of the bathroom. She didn’t hear any noise from downstairs, so she paused outside Clark’s partially open bedroom door and knocked softly.

“Come in.”

Chloe pushed the door open the rest of the way, folding her arms across her chest and meeting his gaze across the room. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of her in his robe and she saw him swallow hard, a stirring of something--desire?--inside of her. She offered him a smile. “I borrowed your robe.”

“Oh, uh…yeah, I…I see that,” he stammered, nodding and she couldn’t help but grin a little more. He was so cute when he was flustered.

“Want it back?” she asked playfully.

His eyes widened even more and she wondered if it was really possible for someone’s eyes to pop right out of their head. “Uh--”

“Chill, Clark, I was kidding.” Chloe sighed inwardly, trying to hide her disappointment. She dropped down onto his desk chair and gazed at him wordlessly.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, eager to change the subject.

She shrugged a little. “Fine, considering a few hours ago I died and was brought back to life by your biological father.” She smirked.

He tried to smile, but didn’t quite manage it.

Chloe closed her eyes as a flash of guilt washed over, followed by a sadness so deep that she suddenly felt like crying. It nearly took her breath away.

“Chloe?” he asked, alarmed. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” She swallowed hard, resting her head in her hands. “I think I’m just tired.”

“Here, lie down.” He rolled off his bed and made his way over to her, helping her up and over to his bed.

She hesitated only a moment before crawling beneath the blankets on his bed. “Clark?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you stay here with me?”

Chloe watched his eyes and if she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn she saw them change to a deeper shade of blue.

Wordlessly he nodded. And after a moment, he laid down beside her. A faint smile on her lips, Chloe fell into a deep sleep almost instantly.


	5. Chapter 5

Jonathan sat down at the kitchen table across from his wife, who was staring at a mug of tea she’d made for herself. “You okay, Martha?” he asked quietly.

She managed a faint smile as she let out a breath. “I’m just a little worried.”

“About Clark or Chloe?”

“Both, actually.” She cradled the mug in her hands. “Do you think this new ability of Chloe’s is permanent or do you think it’ll wear off?”

He shook his head. “I really don’t know.” He looked toward the stairs. “They’ve been up there a long time.”

“They’re sleeping,” Martha said absently.

“Together?” Jonathan stared at her in disbelief.

“Not like that,” she said, giving him a look. “It’s completely innocent. They were both exhausted and they need their rest.”

“Yeah, but Martha…”

“Jonathan. Think about what they’ve been through in the last few hours. Chloe died, Clark almost died…if they need to be close right now for comfort, do you really wanna be the one to deny them that?”

Looking reluctant, he slowly sat back in his chair.

A faint, satisfied smile on her face, she took a sip of her tea.

* * *

When Clark woke up, it was dark outside and one glance at his alarm clock told him it was just after Midnight. He was still tired, though he wasn’t feeling nearly as drained as he was before he’d fallen asleep. Looking down, he swallowed hard as he spotted Chloe snuggled up against him, still sleeping peacefully.

During some point in their nap, he had wound up draping an arm around her and pulling her closer to him. Surprisingly it hadn’t woken either of them from their slumber.

Letting out a breath, he rested his head on the pillow and took the moment to gaze at her as she slept. A strand of blond hair had fallen across her cheek and he resisted the urge to reach out and sweep it away, to brush his fingers lightly over her soft skin. And that’s when his gaze dropped to her lips.

The sudden desire he had to lean down a little closer and kiss her was nearly overwhelming, and he quickly closed his eyes, trying to banish the thought from his mind. It was wrong for him to think about her like that--she was his best friend! Not to mention the fact he was going out with Lana. Still, he couldn’t completely rid himself of the images he had of her kissing him at various times in their relationship.

One time in particular popped into his memory. He’d been under the influence of Red-Kryptonite and she under the influence of a parasite, and she’d all but jumped him at the Talon, undressing him and climbing on top of him in the middle of the café. The memory was making his eyes burn. Swallowing hard, Clark slowly untangled himself from her, trying not to disturb her while she slept. He climbed out of bed, rubbing his eyes and squeezing them shut.  
It was way too hot in there. He moved to the window and quickly pulled it open, letting out a breath as cool air flooded the room.

“Clark?”

He turned to see her prop herself up on one elbow, squinting, her hair messy. And yet he found himself even more attracted to her than he had only moments ago. What the hell was going on? He wondered.

“Hey. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay,” she murmured, rubbing her eyes. “What time is it?”

“A little after Midnight.” He swallowed hard, consciously aware of how his robe had slipped off one of her shoulders, exposing her bare skin.

“Wow.” Chloe sat up, raking a hand through her hair. “I didn’t mean to sleep that long.”

“It’s okay, you needed it. I actually just woke up myself.”

Nodding a little, she reached over and turned on the lamp by his bed. “I’m starving.”

“Me too actually.”

“Want me to see if I can float something up here for us to eat?“ she joked.

Clark couldn’t help but grin. “Why don’t we just go down to the kitchen and I’ll fix something?”

“You cook?” She raised an eyebrow.

He gave her a look. “There’s a lot I can do you don’t know about, Chloe.”

An evil grin tugged at her lips. “I bet there is.”

His cheeks flushed and he shook his head, moving to his closet. “Here, why don’t you…uh…put on some of my clothes and I’ll go down and start cooking?”

“Okay.” She crawled out of bed and he swallowed hard, gazing at her intently for a moment. He had to force himself to turn and leave the room rather than stay there and stare at her.

He didn’t know what was wrong with him.

* * *

Chloe dressed in a pair of shorts that were much too big for her, and one of Clark’s flannel shirts that went almost all the way down to her knees. It was starting to dawn on her for the first time ever that she was incredibly short compared to Clark. Their size difference had never really occurred to her before--not really anyway. Sure, she realized he was taller than she was, but it was never something she dwelt on.

Now as she looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t suppress a giggle at how utterly ridiculous she looked. She’d have to go to Lois’s later and borrow some of her clothes. She and her cousin weren’t the same size, but they were much closer to the same size than she and Clark were.

She headed out of his bedroom and walked quietly down the stairs so as not to disturb the Kents who were undoubtedly asleep. She paused momentarily, wondering if they knew she’d fallen asleep in Clark’s bed with Clark. A little weirded out by that, she shook her head and went into the kitchen, sniffing the air and grinning when she smelled freshly brewed coffee.

“Do I smell bacon?”

Clark turned to look at her, nodding and offering her a small smile. His eyes lingered on her for a moment longer than necessary and she raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, your clothes are a little too big for me.”

“And I was just thinking they look better on you.”

Her mouth dropped open and she caught the look of shock on his face. Apparently he hadn’t intended to say that out loud. Her cheeks flushed and she swallowed hard, both flattered and embarrassed and more than a tad confused. “Uh, thanks?”

He had turned a brilliant shade of red and quickly faced the stove once more. “Omelet okay?”

“Sounds great.” She gazed at him for a moment, wondering what was going on with him as she slid into one of the kitchen chairs.

“What do you want to drink?” he asked, still faced away from her.

She raised an eyebrow. “Hello, Clark? You’re making coffee.”

“Oh, right.” He gave a nervous chuckle and she frowned a little, feeling apprehensive herself.

“Clark, are you feeling okay?” she asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?” Clark turned to face her, holding a spatula. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m all right. It’s just…I feel kinda weird.”

“Weird how?” he asked without hesitation, his eyes growing dark with worry.

Chloe pushed some hair out of her face. “I don’t know…different.”

He gazed at her for a moment, neither of them speaking. Then he looked down at the floor, letting out a breath. “Maybe it’s just a side-effect from…”

“Dying?’

He cringed but nodded. “Yeah.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” She chewed on her lower lip, perplexed.

“Maybe we should go see Jor-El.” His voice was quiet.

“No. Absolutely not.” She shook her head vehemently.

“Chloe--”

“Look, whatever it is, I’ll figure it out. I really don’t wanna go back up there anytime soon, Clark.”

Clark gazed at her, his eyes sad, and he slowly nodded his agreement. He didn’t really want to go back there, either. “All right. Then we’ll just…figure this out ourselves.”

Chloe relaxed a little. “You mean both of us?”

“Of course.”

A small smile tugged at her lips.


	6. Chapter 6

Clark watched as Chloe sat cross-legged on the sofa in his loft, focusing intently on a piece of rock that sat on his desk. He was blown away by how quickly she was able to levitate the mineral, and bring it toward her. It had taken him much, much longer to adjust to his own powers and abilities and sometimes he still wasn’t adjusted.

The grin on her face made him feel warm all over and he swallowed hard, realizing just how often he’d been feeling that around Chloe in the last 48 hours.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she glanced at him, catching the rock as she lost her concentration and it fell toward the loft floor.

He was a bit startled by the way she was looking at him and he forced himself to smile.

“What is it?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Just…it took me longer to control my abilities.”

“Are you jealous?” she asked with a faint grin.

“Well, I think it’d be pretty cool to be able to move stuff with my mind,” he admitted, causing her grin to widen. “Does it make you tired at all?”

Chloe shook her head. “Not so far. Of course, right now I’m just moving rocks and coffee mugs.”

“Maybe you should try something bigger.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug.

She started to reply when a mischievous look appeared on her face, her eyes twinkling. He knew that look. She was up to something that he probably wasn’t going to like.

“Chloe, what--” He realized suddenly that he was floating. “Chloe!”

She was grinning broadly and she stood up, amusement clear in her expression.

“I didn’t mean me!” he said, looking down. He was only about a foot off the ground, but still. Her power was stronger than he’d imagined. “Okay, so you can float things bigger than mugs and rocks. Put me down?”

“Sure thing, Clark.” Still grinning, she closed her eyes and a moment later his feet were back on solid ground.

Feeling unnerved, he shook his head. “All right, I think that’s enough practice for one afternoon.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and then glanced at her watch. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Besides, I should probably get ready and head back to Metropolis. I haven’t been to the Daily Planet or to classes since Monday.”

Before he had a chance to respond, she vanished. Clark felt his heart stop. “Uh…Chloe?”

* * *

Chloe didn’t even realize what was happening until she found herself standing in the middle of her dorm room. “Oh. My. God.”

Starting at the voice, Lana shrieked involuntarily, then froze, her eyes widened in disbelief. “Chloe?” she whispered, her jaw hanging open.


	7. Chapter 7

Lana Lang stared at her roommate, wide-eyed. “How did you…what just happened?”

“That’s…a very good question.” Chloe swallowed hard, her heart pounding wildly. “Um, and there’s an explanation, I promise, but I…will be right back.” She quickly headed out of the room, raking a hand through her hair in disbelief. Somehow she’d just teleported from Smallville to Metropolis!

She felt a wave of panic and she closed her eyes, wondering why she was so freaked out when she didn’t feel like she should be. The idea of superpowers had never freaked her out before. Of course she’d never had any before, either, she reasoned.

She suddenly wondered what Clark’s reaction to her disappearance was. Knowing him he was probably more freaked out than her. She reached for her cell phone, but realized she didn’t have it because she was wearing Clark’s clothes. Crap.

And she was definitely not prepared to walk back into the dorm room and face Lana.

Biting her lower lip nervously, she glanced around the empty hallway, then closed her eyes, hoping when she opened them again, she’d be back in Clark’s loft. However, she didn’t get her wish. “Crap,” she whispered, frustrated. She paced the floor a little, trying to decide what to do. After a moment, she spotted Lana standing in the doorway, looking almost as freaked out as she felt.

“Chloe?” she ventured hesitantly.

Drawing in a breath, she realized she had little choice but to go face Lana. It’s not like wishing herself back to Smallville was actually working. She slowly headed back to their shared room and moved past her friend, sitting down on the edge of her bed. “Okay, um…where to start,” she murmured, her mind racing to come up with a believable cover story. It wasn’t like she could tell Lana that Clark’s biological alien father had brought her back to life and she now had weird powers.

“The beginning?” Lana suggested, sitting down on her own bed, still gazing at her wide-eyed.

“Right.” She swallowed hard. “I was…in a car accident.”

“Oh my God,” she whispered in concern. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, but there were um, meteor rocks all around when I crashed and…I was hurt but the rocks…did something to me. I’m not sure what exactly, but um, I seem to be able to do things now that I couldn’t do before,” Chloe lied, hoping she was convincing.

Lana gazed at her, slightly paler than she had been. “Wow, that’s…”

“Weird. I know.” She bit her lower lip, looking across the room at her friend.

She tried to smile, but looked worried. “So…you can teleport from place to place now?”

“It appears that way. But to be honest, that was the first time it happened, so…I mean, I don’t know if this is a permanent thing or just something temporary.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

Lana slowly stood up, looking a bit nervous as she moved over to her desk. “So…is there a particular reason you’re dressed in Clark’s clothes?” Her voice was slightly more distant.

Chloe quickly looked down at what she was wearing and her heart sank. That wasn’t going to be nearly as easy to explain. There was a loud knock on their dorm room door and she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, silently thanking whoever was on the other side for the distraction.

Sighing, Lana moved over and pulled it open, surprised to see Clark standing there. Frowning, she glanced over her shoulder at Chloe. “How did you get here so fast?”

His eyes widening a bit, Chloe felt another wave of panic and she quickly stood up. “He was in the car with me.”

“What?” Lana frowned.

“When I crashed…he was in the car, too. I think it affected both of us.”

“Oh my God,” she murmured, looking up at Clark worriedly. “Are you all right?” She wrapped her arms around his waist.

Clark’s eyebrows raised and he put his arms around his girlfriend, shooting a questioning look at Chloe.

Chloe made a face, shrugging helplessly as if to say, ‘it was all I could come up with.’

“Clark? Are you all right?” Lana repeated, pulling away to look at him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I wasn’t hurt in the accident.” He forced a smile, feeling unsettled as he looked at her.

“So what powers do you have?” she asked him.

“Oh.” He shot another look at Chloe. “Uh, I can move from place to place really fast.”

She nodded, looking fascinated. “Is that all?”

“Chloe, can I talk to you in the hall for a minute?” he asked suddenly.

“Sure.” Feeling uncomfortable, she followed him out of the room, leaving a bewildered Lana staring after them.

“What the heck happened?” he whispered, pulling her down the hallway far enough from the room so that Lana wasn’t in earshot.

“Apparently in addition to moving things with my mind, I can also teleport,” she whispered back, her eyes wide.

Clark stared at her, letting that sink in slowly. “So you told Lana we were in a car accident?”

“Yeah. And that we crashed by meteor rocks that must have somehow given us powers. And considering all the things we know about the rocks, it’s not that much of a stretch of the imagination.”

“You think she bought it?”

“I think so. But I don’t know.” She wrapped her arms around herself, looking worried.

“Are you all right?”

Chloe looked at him, nodding. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little freaked out, I guess. I’m not sure which one of us was more startled--me, you, or Lana.”

Clark let out a breath, glancing toward their dorm room. “She must be really weirded out right now.”

Her jaw tensed slightly but she forced the expression on her face to remain neutral. “I’m sure she is.”

“I should go…” He nodded toward the room.

“By all means.” She stepped aside to let him by, her voice cool.

Clark gazed at her. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fantastic,” she said, pasting a smile on her face. “Oh, Clark?”

“Yeah?” He turned to look at her once more.

“She wanted to know why I was wearing your clothes.”

He swallowed hard, nodding. “I’ll just…tell her the truth. Well, you know what I mean.”

A faint, bitter smile touched her lips. She wished she didn’t. Watching him go, she bit down hard on her tongue, trying to hold back the tears that were now prickling at her eyes. She suddenly wished she was anywhere but Metropolis.

* * *

Lois sat on her sofa in her apartment above the Talon, glaring at the television screen as she played an old Nintendo game. She wasn’t winning and she hated not winning.

It was her first day off in over a week and she’d planned to just hang out and relax, but so far it hadn’t been a very relaxing day. People kept coming up to her apartment to tell her that the cappuccino machine was broken--like she was supposed to know how to fix the stupid thing. Yeah, right.

It took her a moment to realize that she wasn’t alone and she glanced sideways, springing off the couch as she caught sight of her cousin sitting there. “Chloe?? What the hell?”

If anything, Chloe looked almost as startled as she felt. “Uh, hi.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You wanna explain what just happened?”

“I teleported.”

Lois blinked.

“I was in a car crash, there were meteor rocks, I now have powers.”

She shook her head a little. “You were in a car crash? Are you all right?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. Mostly.” Chloe managed a small smile, but it didn’t reach her hazel eyes and Lois frowned. Something was wrong.

She sat down beside her cousin and put a hand on her shoulder. “Mostly?”

“No, I’m completely fine, actually. I’m just…a little freaked out by these new abilities.” She put her head in her hands and Lois put an arm around her, worried.

“Maybe we should get you to a hospital?”

“No way. I don’t wanna be experimented on like some lab rat, Lois.” Chloe stood up and began to pace the floor.

Lois watched her, wondering why she wasn’t more freaked out by the idea that her little cousin had some kind of magic super-powers. It took a moment for the other thing to register. Her eyebrows shot up. “Hey, Cuz?”

“Yeah?” She didn’t stop pacing.

“Wanna tell me why you’re wearing Smallville’s clothes?”


	8. Chapter 8

Though the temptation of wearing Clark’s clothes to sleep in was very strong, she’d wound up borrowing a pair of flannel pajamas from her cousin and curling up in Lois’s bed for the night. According to her cell phone, Clark had tried to call her three times in the last hour.

A tiny part of her felt guilty for not answering because she knew he’d worry, but the rest of her just wanted to be left alone, to not deal with Clark Kent for a few more hours and attempt to get some sleep.

It had been a very long time since she’d felt this intensely bitter and upset by Clark’s choosing Lana over her--again, and she wasn’t sure why it was happening now. She’d long ago accepted that he was never going to love her the way she wanted, the way she loved him.

So why did she have the sudden urge to crawl under her cousin’s bedspread and hide out for the rest of her miserable life?

Chloe let out a breath, closing her eyes and trying to will away the hot tears that were stinging her eyelids. Realizing sleep was virtually unreachable, at least for the moment, she sat up and flipped on the lamp beside the bed. Gazing intently at the romance novel that was set on Lois’s dresser, she willed it to come to her.

And nothing happened.

Her eyebrows furrowing, she focused harder, imagining the book flying through the air and landing on the bedspread.

Still, nothing.

“Dammit,” she mumbled, now wanting to cry for a different reason. She wiped away a tear as it trailed down her cheek, sniffling.

Apparently the powers had been temporary.

Too depressed to get up, she didn’t even bother turning off the lamp before she laid down in the bed once more, staring up at the ceiling and suppressing the urge to start crying in earnest. She pressed a hand to her forehead, angry with herself for letting this get to her. She’d barely had the powers for a whole day, and she already missed them.

She should’ve been thanking her lucky stars she was even alive, because if it hadn’t been for an alien, she wouldn’t be.

Letting out a breath, she told herself she’d only cry this one last time over Clark, and over the loss of something she’d barely gotten to experience. And then she’d get off her pity party.

And she let the tears come.

* * *

Clark gazed intently at Lana. They’d had a long, long talk about his “new” abilities, and about the accident that he and Chloe had supposedly been in. She seemed to believe every word, looking concerned about both of them. At one point, she’d asked why he hadn’t told her about the accident when she’d called earlier, but he’d simply told her that he’d been too shaken up to discuss it right then.

And now as they stood face to face, he wondered why he had absolutely no desire to kiss her. She was his girlfriend, and she was beautiful and he was in love with her.

Wasn’t he?

Lana smiled sweetly and tilted her head back just a little, waiting for the kiss that he was supposed to give her.

And suddenly he was nearly bowled over by a wave of sorrow that came damn close to competing with the pain that Kryptonite caused him when he was near it. He staggered involuntarily, clutching onto the door frame for support.

“Clark?” Lana said in alarm, her eyes wide.

When he looked at her, his eyes were filled with tears, and his throat tightened. Feeling like he was about to start bawling like a two year old, he covered his face with one hand, wrapping his arm around his stomach with the other.

What the hell was wrong with him?

“Should I call 911?” she asked, frightened.

He quickly shook his head, sucking in a breath that was choked and he barely managed to suppress a sob.

“What can I do?”

He had to get out of there. He had to get away from Lana, and find Chloe.

Chloe? Her name floated forward in his mind like a lifeline to a quickly sinking ship and he tried to understand why because right then it didn’t make any sense. Nothing made any sense.

But somewhere deep within, he knew he had to get to her immediately.

And without a word of goodbye to his girlfriend, he super-sped out of Metropolis and back home toward Smallville.

Toward Chloe.

* * *

Lois was curled up on her sofa watching some cheesy sci-fi movie just after Midnight. The knock on her door caused her to drop her bowl of popcorn, scattering it everywhere. “Great, that’s just great,” she said in annoyance, rising to her feet and heading toward the door cautiously. Who the hell would be knocking at that hour? She wondered.

She cautiously peeked out the peephole, then grimaced, even more annoyed. “Smallville, did anyone ever tell you that your timing sucks?”

“Is Chloe here?” His eyes were red and he looked drained.

“Maybe.” She folded her arms across her chest.

“I need to see her.”

“Well, she’s sleeping. That is what normal people do at this time of night.”

“Which explains why you’re not sleeping,” he shot back, moving past her without an invitation and heading toward her bedroom.

Lois glared after him, shaking her head. Men.

* * *

Chloe sat up quickly when the bedroom door swung open and she spotted Clark’s large frame standing there.

“What’s going on?” They said at the same time, then stared at one another.

“You first,” Chloe said, feeling her defenses rise.

Clark gazed at her for a moment, then moved over to the bedside and sat down on the edge of it. “Something happened earlier…when I was with Lana.”

“Ugh.” She couldn’t stop the noise of disgust from leaving her lips. “I don’t wanna hear anymore, Clark.”

“Not that!” He rolled his eyes.

Grimacing at the mental image, Chloe sat back against the headboard, waiting.

“We were talking and all of a sudden, I felt like something was really wrong. With you.” He searched her face and feeling self-conscious, she turned her head away a bit, hoping he didn’t see her red-rimmed eyes. “You’ve been crying.”

“I lost my powers.” That of course, was far from the sole reason she’d been so upset, but it wasn’t like she could tell him the rest.

“You…” Clark frowned. “You did?”

“Yeah, I tried teleporting and I tried to move that book, but…” She shook her head.

“Oh.” A look of relief passed his face. “I guess I thought…”

“What?”

“That something was…you know, really wrong.”

Her jaw tensed involuntarily and she looked away from him, trying to ignore the anger she was feeling.

All of a sudden, Clark let out a yelp and jumped to his feet and she quickly turned her head to see what his problem was. He was dripping wet, her glass of water that had been on the stand by the bed now floating in the air, empty.


	9. Chapter 9

Chloe and Clark stared at each other for a long minute in silence.

And then the sight of him standing there, his hair dripping wet and a scowl on his face, became too much to deal with. A short chuckle escaped her lips and she quickly popped a hand over her mouth as his scowl became a glare aimed right at her.

Unable to control her laughter, she fell backward onto the bed, her whole body shaking.

He simply stood there, his glare fading away and a trace of amusement now present. “So you wanna tell me why you just used your not-so-missing powers to dump cold water on my head?” he asked wryly.

“I’m sorry,” she managed to choke out through her laughter. “I really thought they were gone. They weren’t working earlier.” She slowly pushed herself back up into sitting position.

He folded his arms across his chest.

“I’m serious, Clark. Really. I had no idea that my thinking about dumping a glass of water on your head would…you know, make it happen.”

He rolled his eyes. “So why’d you think it in the first place?” he asked in confusion.

Chloe sighed softly. “I don’t know.” It was a complete lie and she knew he wasn’t going to fall for it.

She was right. “Chloe. Talk to me. What’s going on? Did I do something to upset you?”

She was silent for a moment. She knew that the way she felt was very unfair because Clark hadn’t given her any reason to think he was suddenly interested in her. She’d known for a long time he was in love with the wonderful Lana Lang. So why, all of a sudden and rather out of the blue, did she feel like she had any right to be jealous?

“Chloe?” he prompted again, this time in concern.

“It’s nothing, Clark,” Chloe said, shaking her head. “Really. I’m just…in a bad mood. It’s been a long couple of days.”

Clark gazed at her intently, not buying it for a second, but sensing she wasn’t ready to open up right then. “Then I’ll try not to take the wet hair personally,” he told her dryly, smirking.

“Good idea. I mean, it just as easily could have been Lois,” she told him with a grin.

But that was the biggest lie of all. Because Lois had never broken her heart.


	10. Chapter 10

_Frozen inside without your touch, without your love  
Darling, only you are the life among the dead_

Chloe was relieved to find out that Lana was spending the weekend with her aunt because she wasn’t really ready to deal with her dark-haired friend when she got back to Metropolis just after ten that night. She was tired from the long drive and all she wanted to do was sleep and forget about the past few days.

Dwelling on them certainly didn’t change the facts.  
Yes, she’d saved Clark’s life and sacrificed her own in doing so. Yes, Jor-El had brought her back to life, and apparently bestowed her with some freaky alien-ish powers. Yes, Clark was grateful that they were both alive, and he cared very much for her. As a friend.

But Clark loved Lana Lang. Always had, always would. And she’d learned long ago that there was no competing with the nearly perfect, doe-eyed beauty she’d at one point considered a sister.

Letting out a breath, she changed into her pajamas, a pair of silky boxers and a black tank top. And then without waiting any longer, she flipped off the light and crawled under her covers, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

_All of this time I can’t believe I couldn’t see  
Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me_

“What are you doing here?” Clark looked at Chloe in confusion as she lingered in the doorway of his bedroom, her eyes full of mischief. She was wearing only his old football jersey and he couldn’t help but let his gaze slide over her bare legs.

“Coming to see you, of course.” Her voice was light, teasing.

“Uh…” He glanced at the clock by his bed. “At two in the morning?”

“So you’re not happy to see me?” Her lower lip puffed out in a sexy pout.

Oh, God.

Clark swallowed hard, unable to tear his gaze from her. “I…didn’t say that,” he managed to stammer.

She flashed him a grin, and not just any grin. The brilliant, trademark Chloe grin that always, always got to him no matter how much he tried to deny it. And then she began walking slowly toward his bed.

Unable to move, he simply watched her move toward him, an emotion he’d never felt before stirring inside him, somewhere just under his skin. He licked his lips without thinking about it as she slowly sat down on the edge of his bed on her knees, leaning over so her face was right in his. “Hi, Clark,” she whispered.

“Hi,” he whispered back, his heart thudding against his chest. His gaze was drawn like a magnet to her lips and with a soft groan he pressed his mouth against hers.

She smiled, straddling him as the kiss deepened almost immediately and his hands began to wander across her soft skin as though they had a mind of their own.

A fire like he’d never known existed within him and he pulled her closer, needing to feel her, to consume her, to drown in her.

And suddenly she pulled away, her eyes having lost their mischievous playfulness. “Something’s coming,” she said seriously.

His eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

“You need to go.” Chloe moved off him, but her gaze remained locked on his. “It’s time.”

“Chloe, I don’t understand--”

“Don’t wait until it’s too late,” she said gravely.

And then she vanished.

* * *

Clark sat up in bed, his heart pounding in his chest. He looked around his darkened room and realized it had only been a dream.

And yet it had felt so real.

There was a heavy feeling of burden upon him and he didn’t know where it was coming from, but he realized something about that dream had been more than just visions from his subconscious. Dream Chloe had said something was coming.

And she was right.

Clark felt it.

Swallowing hard, he quickly climbed out of bed and got dressed, then sped away from his house, toward Metropolis.

* * *

The sharp, loud knock on her door made her groan, and she opened her eyes to see what time it was. She buried her face in her pillow, willing whoever was there to go away--and mostly because she already knew who was there. The only one who ever showed up at her dorm this late and the one person other than Lana Lang she didn’t really want to see right then.

Despite that, she reluctantly forced herself out of bed and moved to the door, opening it. “What is it?” she asked, rubbing her eyes and not quite meeting his gaze.

Clark moved past her and into the room. There was something different about him, but she wasn’t sure what it was and when he turned to face her, there was something in his eyes she’d never seen before…at least not aimed at her. Hunger.

“Clark?” There was a faint hint of wariness and alarm in her voice and she folded her arms across her chest.

“Something’s happening.”

“What do you mean?” She shook her head.

“To me. Something’s happening to me. Something’s changing. I…” His voice trailed off and he gazed at her intensely.

“Okay, why don’t you sit do--” she began when a sudden, sharp and fierce pain unlike anything she’d felt before ripped through her skull. She couldn’t suppress the scream that escaped her lips as she clutched her head, her balance thrown off. She tumbled toward the floor, but Clark caught her before she hit the ground.

Distantly she could hear his voice calling her name, fear--no, terror--surrounding them both.

And then he faded to black as images she couldn’t control crawled across her mind.

She saw spaceships landing everywhere.

Fire, so hot and intense she could feel it like it was burning her flesh.

Lana dying, Lex kneeling over her body screaming, blood streaming from his ear.

Lois, surrounded by ten, then twenty Milton Fines. Fear in her eyes.

Martha and Jonathan Kent being burned alive in their house, screaming in pain and fear.

Her own father, his car flipping over and throwing him from the vehicle.

Darkness descending.

And then Clark, lying on his back still and silent, his eyes vacant.

Chloe screamed and then the world went black.


	11. Chapter 11

Cradling her in his arms, Clark’s heart pounded heavily in his chest. This was all too familiar for his liking. It reminded him too much of how only a few days before she’d died in his arms. And though she was still breathing, her heart still beating steadily in her chest, he couldn’t help but feel afraid. “Chloe. Chloe, wake up,” he whispered, pressing one hand to her cheek.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Can you hear me?”

“Clark?” she whispered, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Thank God.” He kissed her forehead without thinking about it.

Looking confused, she slowly sat up, rubbing a hand over her face. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. You screamed and…fell down like you were in pain and then you screamed again and…you’ve been unconscious since.” He gazed at her worriedly.

The confusion fled from her expression, covered quickly by one of terror. “Oh, God. Clark, something horrible’s gonna happen.”

“What…” He met her gaze, saw the fear there. “Wait, are you saying that…you had some kind of…”

“A vision,” she whispered, tears prickling at her eyes. “Everyone’s gonna die, Clark. Everyone.”

* * *

He watched her intently as she paced the floor, her body trembling and her face pale.

“And there was fire. I could feel it,” she whispered. “Everything was…on fire. Lana and my dad and Lois and your parents and…” Her voice broke and she wrapped her arms around herself, unable to finish.

Clark drew in a breath, not feeling so well himself. “Have you ever had a vision like this before?”

“No, of course not!” she snapped. “If I had I would’ve told you. It must be one of my new powers. Lucky me.”

He took no offense to her tone, because he felt every bit as freaked out as she was. “Right. Sorry. I didn’t mean…” He cut himself off.

“I need coffee.”

He watched as she moved over to the coffee pot that was on her windowsill. Her hands trembled violently and the mug she’d just picked up slipped from her hand.

Clark moved without thinking about it, catching it before it could shatter on the floor. He set it on the ledge of the window and looked at her, resting his hands on her shoulders. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“No. It’s not gonna be okay, Clark. Nothing’s gonna be okay,” she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek.

He lifted a hand to her face and gently brushed the tear away with his thumb. Suddenly assaulted by the memory of kissing her in his dream, his gaze dropped to her lips involuntarily. “Chloe…”

She gazed at him, a mixture of confusion and hope and a tiny bit of fear in her eyes. “Clark, what are you…”

He swallowed hard, pulling her closer to him so there was no space between them. The urge to kiss her was more overwhelming than the same urge had been in his dream.

And when she tilted her head up just a little, he realized he was powerless to resist the urge. He didn’t understand this magnetic pull he’d been feeling toward her lately, but right then he didn’t care.

Clark’s eyes drifted shut and their mouths melded together in a powerful, passionate kiss.

* * *

Chloe closed her eyes as their lips met, and she moaned involuntarily as she felt a spark of heat ignite between them unlike anything she’d ever experienced.

Her hands slid up to cup the back of his neck, her fingers resting lightly against his hair as his found their way to the small of her back, pulling her even closer, if that was possible.

Her heart was pounding so quickly she thought it was going to burst from her chest and emotions she hadn’t even known existed bubbled up within her and she knew, somehow, that he was feeling the same things.

Something was happening, but she didn’t care enough about whatever it was to break the kiss.

Instead, she pressed herself closer to him, seeking and exploring his mouth as he did the same with hers.

And then she felt a gust of freezing cold wind and she shivered involuntarily, slowly pulling away from him and looking around the Fortress of Solitude in confusion. “Clark?” she whispered, alarmed.

He blinked a couple of times and looked around, stunned. “How did we get here?” he whispered back.

They both started at the sound of Jor-El’s voice. “Welcome back, Kal-El.”


	12. Chapter 12

_I’ve been sleeping a thousand years it seems  
Got to open my eyes to everything_

The two of them stood frozen in shock, and confusion. Clark’s arm was wrapped around Chloe protectively, blocking the Arctic wind from assaulting her body.

“What’s going on?” Clark asked loudly, looking around warily.

“I have brought you here to congratulate and warn you, Kal-El.”

Chloe’s eyebrows furrowed and she looked up at him in bewilderment. He shook his head slightly, not understand Jor-El’s words any better than she.

“Warn me about what?”

“What is to come.”

Chloe sucked in a breath. “The vision.”

“That is right, Chloe Sullivan,” Jor-El said and Clark pulled her a little closer to him.

“That was real?”

“Indeed, Kal-El. The future depends on the two of you. You are the only ones with the power to stop this planet from being overtaken by the evil that is already on its way.”

“Wait, wait, the two of us?” she said in disbelief.

“You now play a main role in Kal-El’s destiny, Chloe Sullivan.”

Clark looked at her, confusion in his eyes. “What role?”

“As your wife, Kal-El.”

For a full thirty seconds, neither of them had the ability to speak.

“The dream awakened you to her, and she has always been awakened to you. With the kiss, you accepted her. That is what brought you here.”

“Wait, are you kidding me? It was just a kiss, there were no vows or--” She felt like she was supposed to protest though some part of her had melted at the thought of being Clark’s wife.

“On our planet, there are no vows, only a subconscious acceptance of what is to be. You have accepted one another as life-mates.”

Chloe lifted her head to look at Clark with wide-eyes and saw he was wearing a similar expression.

“What would have happened if he hadn’t kissed me?” Chloe asked, unable to stop herself.

“You would have died, along with every person on this planet.”

Shock registered on her face and her mouth dropped open. Then she smacked Clark in the chest. “ _Clark!_ ”

“Hey! It’s not like I knew!” he said defensively.

Drawing in a breath, she focused her mind away from all the talk of marriage and life-mates. Right then there were more important things at stake, and never in her life did she think that would be the case regarding thoughts of Clark and marriage. “How do we stop what’s coming?”

“Together you are stronger. Without one, you are both vulnerable and weak.”

“That’s not really an answer,” Clark said in confusion.

“The time is coming, Kal-El. You must prepare for what is to be.” Jor-El paused. “You are one of us now, Chloe Sullivan.”

“One of you?” she repeated, her heart skipping a beat. “What does that mean?” She looked at Clark in alarm.

He gazed at her, his eyes wide, but he didn’t answer.

“Servatis a perculum. Servatis a maleficum,” Jor-El said. And with a flash of blinding light, they found themselves standing in Chloe‘s dorm room once more.

Wondering, and fearing, what was to come.


End file.
